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Motor vibration on TS3650

04-08-2008, 09:28 PM

I recently purchased an 'almost new' used 3650 and have gone over it completely, making sure it had been assembled correctly, that it's properly adjusted, and that it's all cleaned & lubricated. Got 'er all dialled in now.

I was cutting some sheet stock for a project today and noticed that there's some vibration coming from the motor area. It builds over the time the saw is in operation, almost like some sort of harmonic resonance. After about 45s to a minute or so, it's reasonably substantial and I can't help but wonder how much of that's being transmitted up into the arbor and blade.

How much motor vibration is normal with the 3650? (I'm expecting 'very little' will be the response here - I haven't come across anything being mentioned in this regard with the 3650). Is there some sort of setting or adjustment I've missed looking at?

Comment

I'd try another blade, or at least run it without a blade to see if it still occurs. If it shakes, remove the belt and run the motor alone to isolate where its coming from. If it shakes without a blade but the motor alone doesn't shake, it could be from the arbor.

I'll go back to the manual - p 25 talks about motor & pulley installation - and look at that again. I'm wondering if something got pranged when my BIL & I were hoisting it out of the back of my van when I brought it home...

Mine vibrates enough that small cutoffs will walk across the top and fall over the edge. The only thing that helped at all for me was this...
you might want to check how well the leveling feet rest on the floor. If any of them feel like they're not firmly planted, this will contribute a bit of vibration also.

Mine vibrates enough that small cutoffs will walk across the top and fall over the edge. The only thing that helped at all for me was this...
you might want to check how well the leveling feet rest on the floor. If any of them feel like they're not firmly planted, this will contribute a bit of vibration also.

Adjusting the feet lessened mine but did not eliminate it.

That's one of the reviews I'd read in researching purchasing the 3650. I'd say I have more than a "small amount of vibration" and probably the same or a bit more than you're describing. I looked at the feet and ensure they're well planted after reading your post. Repositioning them optimally didn't make any noticeable difference, however. Still a good thought though.

Roland, none is normal.
I'd suggest checking that the belt is in good shape and that the motor and arbor pulleys are aligned.
ken

I took a look at them and the belt looks to be in good shape - almost new, in fact. Took a look at the pulleys and moved the motor pulley around, looking the most lined-up arrangement that showed the least belt angling (is there a better way to check for the pulleys being aligned?)

I'd try another blade, or at least run it without a blade to see if it still occurs. If it shakes, remove the belt and run the motor alone to isolate where its coming from. If it shakes without a blade but the motor alone doesn't shake, it could be from the arbor.

I went through this systematically as per your suggestion (which is brilliant, by the way - wish I'd thought of it). No effect on vibration with taking blade off & reposition. No effect with a different blade. No effect running without a blade. Same degree of vibration running motor with belt off.

Pretty sure the problem is the motor at that point, I pulled the cooling fan cowling off & gave the fan a look-see. Some of the fins were bent, which I straightened. The fan plate was a bit warped, which I also straightened. As best as I could I determined that the fan was pretty much balanced and not offering any sort of rotating weight imbalance.

After doing all that, I retightened the fan and turned the motor on without the cowling or belt. Still vibrating, but maybe a touch less. Running without the fan there's almost no vibration. Running without the pulley but with the fan installed there's noticeably less vibration.

Thinking through what this 'raw data' is indicating, one factor that came to mind was that when I started out on this, the set screws for the pulley and the fan were both oriented on the same part of the shaft. And, each time, I'd returned things to the orientation in which I'd found them. Thinking this might be of interest, I set about a series of explorations looking at various positions of one relative to the other. Not surprisingly, when the set screws are oriented 180* to one another the vibration is absolutely minimized and, I would say, close to zero. Systematically reattaching everything step by step saw no real increase in vibration at each juncture.

Look like I'm set now - thanks everyone for the thoughts!!

Hopefully other users coming along will find this thread and the problem solving approach useful.

Edited to add this: In doing this, I also made sure there was still ample room with the blade fully raised and lowered. I imagine if the motor pivot plate is bottoming out at either end of its range, motor vibration would be transmitted directly into the saw rather than enjoying damping by the spring. Just loosen the mounting bolts and either slide the motor in or out as needed to prevent any bottoming. No worries about the motor positioning providing the tensioning - the motor's weight and the spring appear to take care of that for you. (This is exactly unlike other situations commonly seen - my jointer and drill press being prime examples - where the motor is drawn against the belt tightly to provide the tension, then fastened in place.)

Comment

Thinking through what this 'raw data' is indicating, one factor that came to mind was that when I started out on this, the set screws for the pulley and the fan were both oriented on the same part of the shaft. And, each time, I'd returned things to the orientation in which I'd found them. Thinking this might be of interest, I set about a series of explorations looking at various positions of one relative to the other. Not surprisingly, when the set screws are oriented 180* to one another the vibration is absolutely minimized and, I would say, close to zero. Systematically reattaching everything step by step saw no real increase in vibration at each juncture.

I removed the fan cover. On mine the setscrews for pulley and fan were about 10 degrees apart. I rotated the fan 180, but I don't notice any difference.
The motor definitely seems to be the source of vibration, though.

I'm doubt if I'm gonna pursue this any further.

Comment

I also played with mine some. Originally they were lined up, I tried about 8 different spots for the fan, and it made little difference. The most impact at reducing what vibration I get is to have the four feet solidly on the floor. With that, there is not enough to move a small piece of 3/4 thick scrap set on edge. If the feet are not solid, it will slowly vibrate it down toward the lowest edge (my garage floor is not level, so the saw table is seldom perfectly level as i move it a lot).
That was some good info, and another thing to try if vibration is a problem.

Comment

I thought I had my vibration licked on my three week old TS3660 but I have finally figured out it is the motor itself that is causing the vibs..I have the saw perfectly fine tuned but this vibration in my motor is unacceptable. I have taken off the belt, motor pully and the fan on the motor and sure enough the motor itself is the culprit. Does anyone know the policy for Ridgid service would they possibly send me off a new motor in exchange for this one or would I have to bring the whole saw to a repair center? I have many other woodworking machines and the ones that have import electric motors are more prone to vibrations maybe not balanced as well as US made electric motors or cheaper bearings.